Portable desks are well known and are used to supply a user with a writing or supporting surface in a place where no support is provided. A common area for using a portable desk is in a vehicle. During long trips a portable desk can be used to read a book or support a laptop computer. Children use portable desks in vehicles to color or prepare homework assignments.
There have been various patents which solve problems presented by portable desks which are currently on the market. Most portable desks are made of plastic but when not in use take up too much space. The plastic portable desks are also heavy making it difficult for a child or an elderly person to position and handle. Jennings U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,944 and Mills U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,634 disclose portable desks with cushion support for the user's legs.
A patent which has addressed some of these issues is that to Drieling U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,936. The Drieling patent discloses a compressible desk arrangement including a desk made of flexible foam with a rubber coating. The concept presented by Drieling is to provide a desk which may be collapsed by compressing the desk into a storage position. Unfortunately, the desk presented by Drieling is not practical because the desk is expensive to manufacture, and the supporting structure is not rigid enough to provide a solid support surface for writing or working.
There is a need for a portable desk which is lightweight, rigid and squares the user's legs for securing the desk. There is still another need to provide a portable desk having a hard surface but rests comfortably on the user's legs. Finally, there is a need for a portable desk having a raised working surface level at, or near, the proper sight distance for reading or writing; and at the same time, to provide a surface area large enough to display any reference material needed and still have ample room for writing.